Saturday, June 30, 2012

Parc de Monceau - les enfants



Parc de Monceau offers something for everyone...

a carrousel (Jules Verne), honey bees, benches, a circular path for walking or running, sculptures, lawns for lounging (yes!), a pond with ducks, many shade trees, and a large play area for chidren.

I make a visit here almost every trip to Paris


Parc de Monceau
Boulevard des Courcelles
(five entrances around the park)
75008, Paris
Métro Monceau


Friday, June 29, 2012

La vie dans un café



A midmorning breakfast at the
romantique and historic Brasserie du Louvre...

...a wonderful menu
...Champagne with your eggs
...beautifully appointed 
...charming rod and curtains painted for privacy

Can you spot the American tourist?
tsk-tsk-tsk




Brasserie du Louvre
Place du Palais Royal
75001, Paris
Métro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre



Thursday, June 28, 2012

Bistrot Victoires - avec mes amis




Is there anything better than Champagne with friends in Paris?


Of course not!



Café, Bar, Brasserie, Bistrot Victoires
6, rue la Vrillière
75001, Paris
Métro Bourse, Métro Pyramides

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Square Boucicaut - en l'été



Square Boucicaut

Early in the morning, this little pocket of a park was empty
except for the gardener.
 
Paris is often late to rise,
 and you can have her almost to yourself
if you are an early bird.



Square Boucicaut
entre Rue de Babylone et Rue de Sèvres
75007, Paris
Métro Sèvres-Babylone

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Le Nemours - être obligé d'attendre




Kept waiting at le Nemours....


At least there is much to catch one's interest near Palais Royal,
Comédie Française, Place Colette...


How about a glass of bubbly?




Café le Nemours
2, galerie de Nemours
Place Colette at Palais Royal
75001, Paris
Métro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre

Monday, June 25, 2012

Le Carrousel de Nogent - Carrousel XXIII



Just outside of Paris in Nogent-sur-Marne is this enclosed carousel
which I featured almost two years ago here
The enclosure allows this merry-go-round confection
to be enjoyed in all seasons with seating both inside and out. 


I will have to return to get a closer photo of the spaceship
and the old cars in their counter clockwise rotation. 


My blog friend and artist Shell Sheree has a lovely interpretation of this carousel 
and I encourage you to visit and see her ink and watercolor selections.




l'Esplanade de l'Hôtel de Ville
Nogent-sur-Marne
(just east of Bois de Vincennes)

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Église Saint-Sulpice




Saint-Sulpice, at 113 metres long, 58 metres in width and 34 metres tall, is only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame making it the second largest church in Paris.  Peter (Peter's Paris), my husband and I made a visit on the afternoon of Palm Sunday this year and found what seemed to be thousands of chairs for the congregation.  There were several women selling palm fronds on the front steps, and the church seemed alive with the activities of the day.


This church has been the center of events in history and in recent years became a tourist destination due to  Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.  There is much of interest here and I will bring you back again.


 
bon dimanche

 

Église Saint-Sulpice
Place Saint-Sulpice
75006, Paris


Saturday, June 23, 2012

Perigot - design utilitaire



In the Galerie le Carrousel du Louvre
we found this fashion forward store selling household utensils,
all designed by Frederic Perigot on the concept that "simple" is better. 
Every product is based on an aesthetic ideal, both practical and affordable. 


The window design in itself was enough
to make me want to take home mops and dusters by the armful. 


How about un chariot de marche for the daily market shopping?





Perigot - Carrousel
99, rue de Rivoli
Galerie Le Carrousel du Louvre
75001, Paris



Friday, June 22, 2012

Le dîner et du vin



The hazy look of the reflection in this window
adds just the right atmosphere for a quiet dinner with wine.


Enjoy some quiet time this weekend



Le Passage Saint Roch
15, rue des Pyramides
75001, Paris
Métros Pyramides, Tuileries

Thursday, June 21, 2012

La Fête de la Musique



Fête de la Musique
21 juin


I have been thinking about this wonderful day of music in Paris and all of France this week, knowing that today is "the day."  Two years ago I was in Paris with friends Marie, Virginia, and Mary and have special memories about the fun we all had that week, meeting new friends and on this day enjoying music all over the city.

Marie and I finished the day at Le Pré aux Clercs sitting on the terrace in front of the open windows enjoying the soft sounds of a jazz quartet.  L'heure bleue turned to a clear night filled with the sounds of music.

I will not be there this year but will try to enact a bit of that atmosphere at home. 
What a great celebration to welcome summer!


Le Pré aux Clercs
30, rue Bonaparte
75006, Paris


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Dragon in the Louvre



I almost missed this cranky dragon, but after shooting the elegant staircase,
I turned and saw him just this close. 
I would say that he got up on the wrong side of the bed!


 
I am going to add him to my Louvre scavenger hunt list.  Do you want to play?


Louvre
75001, Paris

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris



Red roses, some past the full bloom, add color to the stone face of Notre Dame


(taken from Square René-Viviani)

bon dimanche


Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris
6, Place du Parvis Notre-Dame
75004, Paris

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Dodo Manège - Carrousel XXII



Dodo Manège

This is a unique little carrousel tucked away in Jardin des Plantes,
well-known by the children of Paris. 


You can see an overview photo I posted here 


Dodo Manège
Jardin des Plantes (southeast entrance)
75005, Paris
Métro Gare D'Austerlitz

Friday, June 15, 2012

Jardin du Luxembourg - bateau à voile



Please disregard my earlier comments on "Paris colors" as apparently rose foncé, or bright pink as I would call it is quite popular in the city as seen here on this little boat in the center of the hexagon basin of Jardin du Luxembourg.


May your sails be full as you head into the weekend
with a nice reflection on the previous week.


Hexagon basin
Jardin du Luxembourg
75006, Paris

(For more reflections come to James' Weekend Reflections!)


Thursday, June 14, 2012

Louvre - Hippomenes et Atalanta



Photographing these sculptures in Cour Marly at the Louvre on my last visit,
I recalled having seen them in a different setting. 


First, the story:

From Greek mythology, Atalanta was a huntress who agreed to marry any man that could outrun her in a race.  Hippomenes fell in love with her and prayed to Aphrodite to help him.  In response she gave him three irresistible gold apples to help him in the race.  As they ran, Hippomenes tossed the apples at intervals to distract Atalanta therefore winning the race and her hand in marriage.


Now, the other sighting:

In the frozen cold of December, these Greek heroes were racing on a frozen pond of Jardin des Tuileries as I noted in a post of February 3, 2011.



Cour Marly, Louvre
75001, Paris

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Bar de l'Echelle - café en rose foncé



Although this café terrace is not in a traditional color scheme, I was tempted to have a seat with my bright orange coat and multi-colored scarf just to make a fashion statement. 

Often in Paris it is necessary to stand out from the other twenty cafés that line the street.
I would say that De l'Echelle has found one way.


Bar de l'Echelle
2, rue de l'Echelle
75001, Paris
Métro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre



Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Pont des Arts - l'amour



Pont des Arts, a moonlit night, padlocks on the bridge, and ...

Paris in love


It is just not the same anywhere else


Pont des Arts
75001, Paris


 

Monday, June 11, 2012

Vernissage - Natasha Lythgoe "Opening"

Image copyright © Natasha Lythgoe - All rights reserved


Natasha Lythgoe "Opening"


Natasha Lythgoe is a young British photographer who has worked as a professional for the past 15 years and will have her first solo exhibition in Paris at Centre Iris beginning June 13 through September 15, 2012.   Over the past 8 years she has had nearly 1000 students in her photography courses from those who are new to photography to more advanced students.  She has a degree in fine art and is currently completing her MA in Photography.  

So, if you are in Paris this week, you have an opportunity to meet this artist at the vernissage as she welcomes you at Centre Iris on rue Saint-Martin.  Natasha and I have not met face-to-face but I am looking forward to the opportunity on my next visit to Paris.  How I wish that I was in Paris to join Natasha and many of you for this opening event. 
Tant pis pour moi.







Is it possible for a photograph to have an existence that generates a response, emotion or reflection of its own accord, rather than simply being a representation of elsewhere?


Imbued with Buddhist philosophies and practices, Natasha Lythgoe’s path has led her through spheres of dance and meditation. Through these practices, she explores re-embodiment, re-connection and the present moment.

Sensitive and sensual, viscerally grounded and at the same time transcendent, Natasha Lythgoe invites us to look beyond the trail of photography, so that we not only contemplate that which we are shown, but also experience physiological and psychological responses, and therefore our own personal, intimate relationship to the world at this point in time. The photographs thereby provoke a return to self and to self-awareness. They speak to our eyes of course, but we can also appreciate the images with our ears, feel them in our stomach and through our skin. This visceral yet transcendent quality impels us to reject the notion of photography as merely a process of depiction, and search for meaning behind and between the photographs themselves.

Traditional ways of exhibiting images with ideas of completion and sequential order simply don’t fit in this context. To understand the work fully one needs to view each image as part of a whole: the constellation of images within which it is being presented. Each series of images is neither definitive nor frozen in a permanent sequence, and this freedom of movement, this fluidity, creates a sense of free association, of interchangeable patterns.

As a result, this body of images which at first glance appears disparate, in fact forms together images which present the possibility of a subject, above and beyond that which is represented, and even beyond that which is being photographed. Bearing in mind this move away from photography’s indexical relationship to the world, a particular object within each image is not the main focus of attention.

This distance from what appears to be the ‘subject of’ a particular image, forms part of a theory of non-representation.

Natasha Lythgoe’s photography also employs an intellectual approach which is related to Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s concept of ‘deterritorialization’. This concept when applied to art, at the very least, becomes an exploration of not reducing work to the categories which make it make sense.

In Natasha Lythgoe’s proposal, nothing is defined - unless it is our perception of life, of nature, of the infinitesimal vibrations that run through our world.


Centre Iris... pour la photographie
238, rue Saint-Martin
75003, Paris


Sunday, June 10, 2012

Notre Dame de Chartres - la tour nord




Notre Dame de Chartres, commonly known as Chartres Cathedral, is an architectural treasure as well as a destination for pilgrims for over a thousand years.  I have posted previously here, here and here.

This photo was taken as friend Marie and I ascended the narrow, worn steps in the Jehan de Beauce tower.  We walked round and round seeing few others in the tight spiral leading to the very top, a rather small perch from which to view all of Chartres.  This shot is a portion of the buttresses and the 19th century iron roof.  Each rotation on our way to the top provided a vignette beyond the stone windows including gargoyles and other carvings.

If you are in Paris this easy day trip is worth the visit.  Currently the interior is undergoing a major restoration and there may be portions inaccessible to visitors.  The labyrinth has been restored and is open.


bon dimanche



Notre Dame de Chartres
Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres
Chartres, France

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Hôtel du Nord - IV



Hôtel du Nord is one of my favorite restaurants
with a neighborhood setting along Canal St. Martin.


On our last night in Paris this April,
my husband and I enjoyed the company of dear friend Janeen
and our Paris friend Isabelle. 


Leaving Paris is bittersweet, but always holds the promise of trips to come.



 

Hôtel du Nord
102 Quai de Jemmapes
75010, Paris

Friday, June 8, 2012

Repetto - IX


Dansez!


The Repetto window on Rue de la Paix is always on my list...

This display in white gives the illusion of petals being blown from a delicate flower.




Repetto
22, rue de la Paix
75002, Paris
Métro Opéra

(For more reflections, see James' Weekend Reflections)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Montmartre - des tissus


In the streets just below Sacré Coeur are many fabric merchants.
Some, like this one, have plentiful displays on the sidewalk, tempting buyers.

I wondered how the fabrics were kept clean from the grime of the street, but do you think that the inventory changes so often that the "freshness" of the fabrics is not an issue?




Ronsard Decors
7, place Saint Pierre
75018, Paris

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Hector Guimard - art nouveau




The graceful curves of this wrought iron and glass awning are typical of art nouveau detail.
The pattern on the stones resembling coral are called "vermiculation" as it mimics the trail of worms in soft soil.  This is one form of an architectural technique known as "rustication" which has been in use at least since the rennaissance period.  You may have noticed this same pattern on the Louvre palace and Haussmannian buildings around Paris.


This elegant home which sits inside the gates of Parc de Monceau has a stunning main entrance in the courtyard.  This is just the "back door."



5, ave Van Dyck
75008, Paris

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Le chat roux - III









So, the mystery is solved...

In a very life-like pounce le chat roux is going after the birds on the next window ledge. 
I feel certain that they all escape, leaving the adventure for another day.

Rue Crémieux is a short walking street of two-story houses facing each other. 
The colors and tromp l'oeil such as seen here are abundant.

Le chat roux which I showed you last week lives on this storybook street also.  Do you think he was the model for ce chat roux qui se jette sur les oiseaux*?
(*this red cat who pounces on birds)



28, rue Crémieux
75012, Paris

Monday, June 4, 2012

Le chat roux - II



Walking alone, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye,
or so I thought...

 Above my head was this leaping cat, about to pounce...
Pourquoi?

Come back tomorrow,
 for the rest of the story...


Typical narrow street
75012, Paris



Sunday, June 3, 2012

Basilique Saint-Denis



Amidst the many tombs and sculptures of Basilique Saint-Denis
we found this gilt funerary art. 
As the subject looks up for an eternity,
the magnificent stained glass of the Apse windows are reflected on the glass case.

Many thanks to Owen of Magic Lantern Show who led our group that day.  How wonderful to meet bloggers face to face.


bon dimanche


For other reflections, see James' Weekend Reflections

Basilique Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis

Saturday, June 2, 2012

A hidden garden



This shot was taken through the iron gate 

The glimpse of red caught my attention matched with the bright yellow pansies. 
I thought that I saw a bench and some garden sculptures. 
Too bad it was locked.

bon weekend


Avenue Junot
Montmartre
75018, Paris


Friday, June 1, 2012

Les deux fashionistas



Les deux fashionistas...

(not exactly French bien sûr)

just out for a Sunday afternoon stroll along Canal St. Martin


You can certainly understand how a sense of
style and fashion is passed down from mother to daughter


Canal St. Martin
75010, Paris